Friday, May 15, 2015

Organize Your Life




Life can be so hectic these days, so hectic that everything feels messy and it’s like everything’s happening all at once. But that’s just not the case.
It’s time we all admit that we need help in organizing our lives. It’s going to be a chore to do all this, but staying organized makes life easier in the long run. Just think about how easy it’ll be to find stuff you need and avoid last minute hassles. Here are few tips that’ll show you how to organize your life at home, work and everything in between.

1. Write Everything Down And Don’t Rely On Your Memory

We can all agree most of us have a tough time remembering things. If you want to remember things, put it in writing, or in a digital notebook like Evernote or Google keep
Keeping your to-do, lists and other information written somewhere allows you to look back at it anytime, even when you’ve hit your head and forgotten your own name.

2. Make Back-Ups of Everything

Back up your computer files and have duplicates made for your car and home keys. Scan your IDs, passports and bank details, too then put it all in a secured folder in your computer. Keep the original and photocopies of your financial records, birth certificates, land titles and insurance in one folder, preferably tucked away in a safe.

3. Practice Mise En Place (Putting In Place)


Chefs are extremely organized people, in and out of the kitchen. Their secret? They have a place for everything. They sort out their clothes, wrapping paper, crafts, cleaning materials, basically everything, and keep them in labeled containers or closets at home. In the kitchen, they’re trained to organize their work space well so that their every moved is conserved and they know exactly where all the ingredients are.
Doing this will take time, but after a while you’ll see how easy it is to find what you need when everything in your place has a home.

4. Scan and Back-up Your Photos

Worried about losing the last copy of your childhood photos? Tired of all the bulky picture books in your coffee table? Have the pictures scanned to save space and make sure you don’t lose these precious memories. You can even have them scanned at a local printing shop.

5. Clean Up Regularly

The best way to remain organized is to allot certain hours of day the decluttering and cleaning up. It doesn’t have to be a large chunk of time either, as 15 to 30 minutes a day is enough.

6. Keep The Hotspots Clean


Every house and office has a hotspot for clutter. Usual suspects are the sink, dining table, cubicle, night stand, and bedroom drawers. Take note of these places and tidy them up daily.

7. Get a Money Management App

One downside of being unorganized is overspending your money and relying on credit cards until pay day.
You can easily avoid this by getting a money management app like Quicken or Mint.
Use these apps to record your monthly bills and document your spending.  This way, you can get reminders sent to you before your bill is due so you can deposit money to your account. You can also see how much money you’ve already spent so you’ll know exactly where your money goes and how you can cut back.

8. Recycle And Donate to charity

Is your closet full of unopened bags and clothes that still have their tags on? Is your book shelf full of unread books?
Chances are if you haven’t read, worn, or used whatever it is, then you’re probably not going to use it at all. Donate them to a charity or sell them on ebay.

9. Donate or Throw One Thing Before Buying Something

Try this experiment: before buying one thing, throw out something old or something you don’t use. Or, if you’re a really terrible pack rat, just throw out 1 old thing a day until you can’t find any more items to throw. Do that for a month and I guarantee you’ll have less clutter in your life.

10. Check The Expiration Dates Of Canned Goods And Medicine You’ve Stocked

Expired food, spices, and medicines won’t just taste bad, it’s also bad for your health. Dispose of it immediately to minimize the clutter in your cabinets, and make room for new supplies.

11. Create A Centralized Family or Work Information Center

To keep up with schedules and tasks, you need to coordinate with your family and co-workers.
Use a synchronized calendar app, where every member of your team or family can enter new updates, schedules and tasks that every member can see. Doing this avoids conflicting schedules and keeps everyone informed of each other’s activities and whereabouts. You can also do this using big whiteboards.

12. Create A List Of Your Passwords In A Safe App Or Offline File

Passwords are very important in keeping your privacy and security. Unfortunately, using the same password for everything is bad, while having a lot of different passwords is secure but difficult to remember.
Centralize your passwords and sensitive data using an app that allows you to create one password to secure all your other passwords, like LastPass.

13. Unsubscribe From Unread Email Newsletters, Magazines And Other Subscriptions


If you subscribe to a number of newsletters, blogs and other online publications, but haven’t read a single email from them in 3 months, just unsubscribe. You probably won’t read any of their content, anyway. While you’re at it, unsubscribe from unread magazines, catalogues and junk mail. It’s just a waste of money and space, especially if you don’t read them.

14. Create An Inventory And Don’t Over Stock Supplies

Make an inventory of home cleaning and toiletry supplies, so you don’t run out and don’t overstock either. You might think overstocking is good, but if you don’t have enough storage then all those extra supplies are just wasting your precious space.
The same tip is applicable for office supplies, canned goods and toiletries.

15. Create Daily, Weekly And Monthly Schedules for Cleaning

Organize your cleaning schedule. It’s extremely exhausting to have a “cleaning day” where you clean everything all at once. Distribute tasks evenly, so for example, dish washing could be done daily; while vacuuming could be scheduled weekly and cleaning the windows done monthly.

16. Create a Weekend Bucket List

Keep a list of activities that you want to do, so you can consult this list on boring weekends instead of wasting your time figuring out what to do—or just giving up and watching reruns at home.

Whichever of these tasks you decide to do, remember that you can’t completely organize your life in one go. It’s a long, never-ending process so be patient. Just decide to get organized now then take baby steps until you see some semblance of order in your life. Soon enough, you will be making a habit out of it all.

16. Relax


Find some time every day for prayer say 20min , for self-reflection may be 10min in bed, thinking how was the day, how everything went well and thank for the all the good things  and also little time for our own hobbies (could be a book / song you wished to hear for long)

Monday, May 11, 2015

How to store food properly?





















































Freezer
Let’s start with the obvious stuff: Freezers are for storing frozen things (duh!). Your ice goes in the freezer, as do frozen fruits, veggies, meat, stock, and other items. You can also store a surprising number of other foods in the freezer for later use, such as tortillas, pasta sauce, and even eggs. (Note: You can freeze bread for up to three months, but don’t store it in the fridge or it’ll dry out.) The trick with freezers is to pack foods tightly in their containers and keep things well organized, since this optimizes storage and also saves energy (and moolah on that energy bill). Rather than using glass jars, which can break, freeze foods in stackable plastic containers or in plastic freezer bags laid flat.

Doors
Doors are the warmest part of the fridge and should be reserved for foods that are most resistant to spoiling. Keep condiments, juices, and other foods that can stand up to temperature fluctuations here. (And remember that even condiments have a shelf life). Since fridge doors can get warm (particularly when they're opened often), eggs and dairy shouldn’t go here, even if you guzzle milk straight from the carton all the live-long day. (Although if that’s how you roll, you have bigger bacteria to worry about.)

Upper Shelves
The upper shelves of the fridge have the most consistent temperatures, while the lower shelves are coldest. One pro strategy from restaurant kitchens is to place foods that don’t need to be cooked near the top of the fridge. This includes leftovers, drinks, and ready-to-eat foods like tortillas, hummus, and deli meats. Herbs can be kept fresh by placing them upright in a vase or jar with water and loosely covering it with a plastic bag. You’ll also want to keep berries up here for easy access (see the crisper section for more berry info).

Lower Shelves
The lower shelves are your best bet for raw meat, eggs, seafood, and other dairy to be stored at the coldest temperatures. To prevent raw meat’s bacteria from spreading to other areas, assign a particular section of the fridge as your meat locker. Keep meat in its original packaging, and place it on a plate or in and improvised bin that’s cleaned regularly.

Overall: Don’t crowd your shelves too much. Unlike the freezer, the fridge shouldn’t be totally packed. Cold air needs to flow here, and if it can’t, you’ll get inconsistent temps with pockets of heat and warmth. (Lukewarm yogurt, anyone? Didn’t think so.) Leaving a little wiggle room between your leftovers will also help keep down your energy bill.

Crisper Drawers
The purpose of crisper drawers is to maintain moist conditions that help preserve fruits and vegetables. But don’t make the mistake of jumbling all your produce together in a fruit and veg free-for-all. Many fruits, including apples, peaches, plums, pears, and cantaloupes, produce ethylene, a chemical that helps them to ripen. Unfortunately the ethylene produced can also promote ripening in other plants, causing vegetables to go yellow, limp, or even sprout. For this reason, keep veggies in one drawer and fruits in another.


Fruits and veggies should be washed before eating, but too much moisture can cause foods to flip from ripe to rotten before you can get your antioxidants on. The goal is to wash fruits and veggies when it’s convenient, but not so far in advance that they are likely to spoil before you eat them. When washing fruits, remove extra moisture by draining in a colander, blotting with paper towel, or using a salad spinner. Berries are particularly fragile, so handle with care and gobble them within a day or two of washing. (Storing them on the top shelf of the fridge will help with that.) Once washed, put greens and herbs in a plastic bag or container with a square of paper towel to soak up excess moisture and everything else in clean (and preferably clear) containers. Put the containers back in the crisper for longer-term storage or on the top shelf where you’re more likely to see them and eat them up quickly.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

What-are-the-top-three-things-you-do-to-keep-your-life-on-track?


1. I've learned to let go.

Of the past, because I can't change it.
Of a grudge that I was carrying around that was weighing me down.
Of regretting decisions I've made. 
Of judging myself so harshly.
Of worrying about what other people think of me.
Of always doubting myself.

This list could go on and on, but I think I've finally grown up and can accept myself just the way I am.

2. I've stopped comparing myself to other people.

I finally found out that if I wanted to suffer, the best way to do that was to compare myself to other people. I convinced myself "they" had more than I did, were more than I was, looked prettier than I did, were thinner than I was and that their lives were made up of only happiness and joy.
And the best place to compare yourself is Facebook, from what you eat, your relationships,what your house size, what you earn, and finally what snickers brand ? 



3. I choose to be happy instead of angry and bitter.

How is that possible you ask? Life isn't like that. It has ups and downs and it's very hard to be happy when you're in "the down's."

I agree, but instead of being angry at someone, I remembered that when I point my finger at them for their mistakes, there are three pointing back at me.

I always felt stressed. Everyone told me to get more exercise. I did and it worked. I still feel stressed at times, but the feeling is appropriate for the situation. 

I keep myself on track because I remember these five words: 

I let go of the past.

And finally call to action to you viewers .......





Self Respect


Saturday, April 18, 2015

Emotions of a Week

No, that’s not it at all the emotions ...  We all hate having to get up on a Monday and head into work.  Ok that’s not always true, a lot of people love their jobs, or so they say. But even accepting a level of enjoyment at work, it does not change the fact that Monday morning is about the least popular time there is.

Even if you enjoy your work, you are going from where you want to be, to where you have to be, and probably on not enough sleep.  This morning I was woken at six on a Saturday, which is late in my household,  however, I then got to cuddle my pillows and got back to sleep, before climbing out of bed again at 9 to start the trudge back to reality.  A mug of tea and a shower later I was greeted by the sound of my neighbors TV Arsenal Live commentary.  

Friday, April 10, 2015

Happy Friday



“To find someone who will love you for no reason, and to shower that person with reasons, that is the ultimate happiness.”
-Robert Brault


Friday, March 27, 2015

What does it take to be happy in a relationship?



If you’re working to improve your marriage or relationship, here are the 10 habits of happy couples.

1. Go to bed at the same time
Remember the beginning of your relationship, when you couldn’t wait to go to bed with each other to make love? Happy couples resist the temptation to go to bed at different times. They go to bed at the same time, even if one partner wakes up later to do things while their partner sleeps. And when their skins touch it still causes each of them to tingle and unless one or both are completely exhausted to feel sexually excited.

2. Cultivate common interests
After the passion settles down, it’s common to realize that you have few interests in common. But don’t minimize the importance of activities you can do together that you both enjoy. If common interests are not present, happy couples develop them. At the same time, be sure to cultivate interests of your own; this will make you more interesting to your mate and prevent you from appearing too dependent.

3. Walk hand in hand or side by side
Rather than one partner lagging or dragging behind the other, happy couples walk comfortably hand in hand or side by side. They know it’s more important to be with their partner than to see the sights along the way.

4. Make trust and forgiveness your default mode
If and when they have a disagreement or argument, and if they can’t resolve it, happy couples default to trusting and forgiving rather than distrusting and begrudging.

5. Focus more on what your partner does right than what he or she does wrong
If you look for things your partner does wrong, you can always find something. If you look for what he or she does right, you can always find something, too. It all depends on what you want to look for. Happy couples accentuate the positive.

6. Hug each other as soon as you see each other after work
Our skin has a memory of “good touch” (loved), “bad touch” (abused) and “no touch” (neglected). Couples who say hello with a hug keep their skin bathed in the “good touch,” which can inoculate your spirit against anonymity in the world.

7. Say “I love you” and “Have a good day” every morning
This is a great way to buy some patience and tolerance as each partner sets out each day to battle traffic jams, long lines and other annoyances.

8. Say “Good night” every night, regardless of how you feel
This tells your partner that, regardless of how upset you are with him or her, you still want to be in the relationship. It says that what you and your partner have is bigger than any single upsetting incident.

9. Do a “weather” check during the day
Call your partner at home or at work to see how his or her day is going. This is a great way to adjust expectations so that you’re more in sync when you connect after work. For instance, if your partner is having an awful day, it might be unreasonable to expect him or her to be enthusiastic about something good that happened to you.

10. Be proud to be seen with your partner
Happy couples are pleased to be seen together and are often in some kind of affectionate contact — hand on hand or hand on shoulder or knee or back of neck. They are not showing off but rather just saying that they belong with each other.

Happy couples have different habits than unhappy couples. A habit is a discrete behavior that you do automatically and that takes little effort to maintain. It takes 21 days of daily repetition of a new a behavior to become a habit. So select one of the behaviors in the list above to do for 21 days and voila, it will become a habit…and make you happier as a couple. And if you fall off the wagon, don’t despair, just apologize to your partner, ask their forgiveness
and recommit yourself to getting back in the habit.

If there was one key to happiness in love and life and possibly even success it would be to go into each conversation you have with this commandment to yourself front and foremost in your mind, "Just Listen."


Source: Psychology Today

Thursday, March 26, 2015

World Cup 2015


India's spectacular winning streak in World Cup 2015 came to a disappointing halt on Thursday when the defending champions lost their semifinal match against four-time champions Australia. It was a brave fight from the Men in Blue in front of a screaming Sydney Cricket Ground. In the end, it was all for nothing.


I am still a die-hard fan of Team India !  Today March 26th 2015 Australia powered into the World Cup final with a 95-run victory over defending champions India in Sydney.

But,


Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Win Every Interview with these 6 Steps



1.    Predict the future. You can anticipate 90% of the interview questions you’re going to get. Three of them are listed below, but it’s an easy list to generate.
“Why do you want this job?” “What’s a tough problem you’ve solved?” If you can’t think of any, Google “most common interview questions.” Write down the top 20 questions you think you’ll get.
2.    Plan your attack. For EVERY question, write down your answer. Yes, it’s a pain to actually write something. It’s hard and frustrating. But it makes it stick in your brain. That’s important. You want your answers to be automatic. You don’t want to have to think about your answers during an interview. Why not? Keep reading.
3.    Have a backup plan. Actually, for every question, write down THREE answers. Why three? You need to have a different, equally good answer for every question because the first interviewer might not like your story. You want the next interviewer to hear a different story. That way they can become your advocate.
4.    Prove yourself. Every question should be answered with a story that proves you can do what you’re being asked about. “How do you lead?” should be answered with “I’m a collaborative/decisive/whatever leader. Let me tell you about the time I ….” Always tell a story or have facts to prove you are what you say you are. More on how to construct and tell these stories in a future article.

5.    Read the room. All that brainpower you’re not using to desperately come up with answers to questions? Look around. Focus on the interviewer. In the first 10 seconds, is there anything in their office, or about them, you can notice and use to forge a connection? A book on a shelf? A family photo? A painting? Read the interviewer: is their body language open or closed? Are they tired and should you try to pep them up? Do they like your answer or should you veer in another direction?
6.    Make it to Carnegie Hall. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice. Same goes for getting a job. When I was in my second year of job hunt, I practiced my interview answers -- out loud -- until I could tell each story smoothly, without thinking about it (but not so smoothly that I was bored with the re-telling). My roommate walked in one day to find me sitting on the futon reciting why I thought I was a great leader again and again. He figured I was stuck in some kind of Stuart Smalley-like self-help loop. But I got 2 job offers from 5 companies (that’s another story) and was on track to get another 1 before I stopped interviewing. How is that possible? Practice.

Everyone deserves an amazing job. I hope this helps you get one.


           Courtesy :Laszlo Bock SVP,  People Operations at Google

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Never Give Up !!

There’s a point in your life when you know who stays forever and who’s just around for a while. People change, but so do you. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Bad things happen to everyone, you’re not in it alone. People lie and some people just don’t care how you feel. Your heart beats no matter how much pain you’re in. Everything will be okay eventually. There are always people in your life that just make your day no matter the miles. I know all about distance, I’ve been dealing with it all my life, so don’t tell me it’s easy, but it’s worth it. I’d rather stay in touch with the people I love than just drop it and forget about it. You don’t forget about the ones you love, it doesn’t work like that. Give it all you got, and live your life to the fullest. People would kill to have what you have. Someone always has it worse off than you, but that doesn’t mean your pain doesn’t count.

I think everyone at some point, goes through that one moment where they think “my God, I can’t do this”. But you know what? You can. No matter how close you are to the edge, no matter how badly you feel like giving up, or think it’s best to do so rather than have to put up with the pain - don’t. Don’t lose hope that things will get better. Don’t give up, because there is someone out there who will make you smile in a way no one else ever could. Keep that glimmer of hope alive in your heart, because someone is out there searching for your smile. So wipe your tears and keep your head held high.

“Time heals all wounds but it takes a little push on our part. Acceptance plays a part. Not all love stories end with “…and they live happily ever after.” Sometimes we have to part because of circumstances beyond our control. We have to suffer if it would mean happiness for others. We have to cry to temporarily let go of the pain. Every beginning has its end like every dawn has its dusk. It’s something we can’t control, something we had to live up.”